6.15pm, December 19, 2000… it is a time that forever remains with me…
Zeus was sick even though he seemed so full of life. The cancer inside of him was aggressive and systemic. But still I had agonised over the final decision for 6 days after the lab results had come back. My friends and family tried to tell me it was the right thing to do. The available treatments had no guarantee of success but every guarantee of prolonged suffering. When I accepted that a decision to keep him alive was more for me than for him, I knew the time had come.
Our last day together was the best and the worst. The day was warm and sunny. We did all his favourite things, we visited all his favourite people and places, we lay on the deck together, he ate rump steak all day! Pure, best friend bliss. But as much as I enjoyed every last minute, I was dreading what was to come.
We arrived at the vets at 5.22pm. There was a lady in the car park. She innocently commented on what a beautiful boy he was but I couldn’t reply. I broke down as I looked away.
Greg led us to a large grassy area behind the clinic and said he would be back shortly. For 30 minutes I held my boy in my arms and cried. I sometimes think he knew what was about to happen but just like the mate he had always been, he seemed more worried about me. He nudged me with his nose and licked the tears from my cheek.
Greg came out from the surgery. The syringe was in his left hand. It was blue. He tried to hold it behind his back.
I turned away and held my big fella’s head, silently thanking him for the times we had shared and the memories I would always cherish.
It’s now been almost 7 years yet I can still vividly remember the exact moment my heart broke… the moment everything became quiet… the moment I have struggled to get through every year since… the anniversary I still choose to spend alone…
because at 6.15pm, December 19, 2000 I watched the life leave the eyes of my best mate.

Mike from New Zealand